This invention relates to a label/form combination and method of manufacturing, and more particularly, to a label/form combination that is designed to allow the label/form combination to withstand the harsh environment of a laser printer during both simplex and duplex imaging processes.
There are known labels/forms in the marketplace that are designed for use with laser printers in a simplex mode. These labels/forms typically utilize common methods of bonding the two dissimilar materials of the label/form together. The different materials may be a pressure sensitive label stock and laser bond paper for example. One common method employs the use of a xe2x80x9ccold gluexe2x80x9d that adheres the back of the liner of the pressure sensitive material to the face of the laser quality bond sheet. Usually, a portion of the facestock of the pressure sensitive material and the pressure sensitive adhesive is stripped away at the joint, leaving only the thickness of the liner of the press sure sensitive material and the laser bond sheet at the joint. This allows a gradual change in the thickness of the material and provides for trouble free processing through the laser printer. This construction would appear to be a reasonable solution for a simplex or duplex laser imaging application. However, at times, the end user wants to utilize the area of the facestock that is usually stripped away. When the facestock of the pressure sensitive label is left intact and not stripped away and imaging is required at the joint, the increased thickness of the joint results in less than desirable imaging at the joint. The thickness at the joint comprised of the facestock adhering liner and bond paper results in an area of the construction that is thick enough to increase its thermal mass and results in less than desirable toner adhesion and transfer. Additionally, as the remaining label stock on the joint strip is fully removable from its liner, if a portion of the form is provided on facestock that is fully removable, the end user runs the risk of having a portion of the form removed undesirably. For example, a receipt may have a portion of the form which is a combination of pressure sensitive adhesive sheet and bond sheet that could be undesirably removed using this prior construction.
Another common method is the joining of a pressure sensitive stock and a laser bond sheet by utilizing the adhesive of the pressure sensitive stock as the bonding agent instead of using the cold glue. In this construction, a portion of the liner material of the pressure sensitive stock is removed to expose the pressure sensitive adhesive coating on the back of the facestock. The exposed pressure sensitive adhesive area is then laminated over the face of the laser bond in order to create the label/form combination bond or joint. Only the pressure sensitive adhesive on the label stock is used to form the label/form joint. When this type of joint is used in a laser printer in duplex mode, two passes through the fuser are made. This tends to weaken the bond between the laser sheet and the adhesive from the label stock and has been known to weaken the joint and cause separation of the joint due to the high heat of the laser printer and the longer dwell time associated with duplexing operations.
Another problem inherent in this type of label/form construction is found in association with duplex imaging. As described above, the higher temperatures and increased dwell times can cause curling of the label/form combination, which can result in the label/form jamming the printer. This may be particularly problematic with respect to the use of short grain designed products where the bond paper is in a short grain direction in the printer. In the duplex imaging mode, the sheet needs to pass through the fuser twice, and significant temperatures can be generated. This can result in rapid loss of moisture by the heated sheet after its first pass through the fusing station. Moisture gained in the bond portion of the structure escapes rapidly, causing the short grain sheet to curl and jam in the feed path, particularly in high humidity environments, where it may have absorbed additional moisture.
Another problem is with label/forms xe2x80x9cdog earringxe2x80x9d, which can occur within a laser printer when a 90xc2x0 corner on the label/form catches on an internal part within the printer feed path causing the label/form to fold over at that corner and possibly causing a misfeed, jam or poor imaging.
It is therefore an object of this invention to set forth a label/form combination assembly, which avoids the disadvantages and previously mentioned limitations of typical current document assemblies.
In one aspect of the present invention, this is accomplished by providing a business form comprising a releasable label sheet comprising a label stock having one side coated with pressure sensitive adhesive and a release stock having one side coated with a release agent. The pressure sensitive adhesive is engaged with the release stock coated surface, with the label sheet having a strip of exposed pressure sensitive adhesive along an edge thereof. A laser printable sheet is adhesively connected to the label sheet by both a strip of adhesive applied to the back of the release stock non-coated side and the laser printable sheet, and the strip of exposed pressure sensitive adhesive. Additionally, at least one and preferably all four corners of the laser printable sheet are die cut forming a radius (rounded) corner to reduce the possibility of forming xe2x80x9cdog ears.xe2x80x9d
The foregoing and other aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures.